Memorable Insight
by SeeMeInTheShadows
Summary: A) Heroes B) Warriors C) Students D) All of the Above. A series of 100 drabbles. Team-centric.
1. Blackboard

100 words from a random word generator. And I write a drabble about each one. Sounds fun, right?

Updated: 22/7/12

#1 Blackboard

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Ulrich, Yumi, and Odd stared at it.

And stared.

And stared.

And stared a little bit more. Jeremie looked proud of himself. He had found the chalkboard while they were exploring the factory. Trying to get a feel for the wretched building.

Ulrich spoke first. "What exactly is it?"

Jeremie smiled again. "I was looking around the supercomputer and I found this equation. I think it's used for the scanners. You see, alpha over-"

Odd held up his hands. "Listen Einstein, if you think it works then we'll just go along with it. I don't know about Yumi, but Ulrich and I are still trying to understand the Pineapplean formula."

The sound of Ulrich slapping his head was heard.

"It's Pythagorean, Odd, and I'll have you know that I understand that perfectly!"

Odd waved his hand and turned to Yumi. "What do you think, Yumi?'

Yumi, who had been staring at the equation shrugged. "Are we even doing the write thing? This isn't a game. Real people could get injured. Do you really think we're up for it?"

Jeremie shrugged. "We're past the point of no return."

"No, we're not," Yumi said. "We just found this place a few days ago, we can still tell someone. And we can make sure they don't do anything hasty. We could stop this before someone gets hurt."

Jeremie turned and looked at her.

"That's the plan. We're going to stop this before anyone gets hurt. I promise."

And they did.


	2. Craft

Updated: 25/8/12

#2 Craft

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Yesterday, there had been a football match. And Odd had been on a date. Jeremie's laptop had run out of power and he hadn't been permitted to enter his room to get the charger. And Yumi was at a restaurant with her family. There had also been a XANA Attack.

The program had nearly won.

A series of lucky chances had been the only thing that saved them.

Today, they met in Odd and Ulrich's room, as per Yumi's instructions. She burst into the room and held something behind her back. There was a tinge of pink on her face and she slowly showed them what she was holding.

"Friendship bracelets," She explained. "After yesterday, I think we need to be reminded of what's important."

They weren't friends; they barely even talked to each other when they weren't fighting XANA, but Yumi seemed almost desperate and Ulrich remembered that she had no friends. And she had been calloused enough to not care. She had probably seen countless people make them for each other when she was younger and she had probably never been able to get one.

He was the first one to take it and slip it onto his wrist. Green strands mixed with blue, purple, black, and pink. It was them. He smiled as Jeremie and Odd picked hers and she brought him, Odd, and Jeremie into an unexpected hug.

Maybe there was hope for them yet.


	3. Doing

Updated: 18/8/12

#3 Doing

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The sound of the glass smashing against the wall was not an unexpected one, but Yumi still flinched.

Ulrich was breathing heavily, clenching his fists together. He tried to spring forward but she leapt up and held him stationary. Wrapping her arms around him, he seemed to calm down. Or, at the very least he stopped struggling.

She led him to her chair and sat him down before working on cleaning the shards of glass before her parents got home. Technically, Ulrich himself wasn't even supposed to be there. But none of them wanted to be alone.

Ulrich stayed seated. But he didn't do much else either- his eyes dully watched her and his shoulder stubbornly stayed slumped. Finally, he spoke, and it was in an almost-broken voice that almost made her want to lie down and never get up.

"Why did he have to be so stu-..." He trailed off and took a deep breath. "Why do we even do this?"

It wasn't a new question. They had all been asking it in some form since the day it all started.

"What do you mean?" Yumi asked lightly as she continued to scrape the area for glass shards.

Ulrich slumped onto the table. "No one even knows what we go through. Is it really worth it?"

"Well, if we didn't then everyone would be affected, including us."

Ulrich's eyes met hers and he opened his mouth again, but she cut him off.

"Listen, Ulrich," she said, "We don't choose to do this. We don't have to want to do this. We don't even need to do this, if you want to walk out of this whole thing, no one's going to stop you."

She put the dustpan and brush away. "We just do," she whispered.

Ulrich nodded numbly and got out a new glass for her. "It's not broken," he explained.

But maybe they were.


	4. Temper

Updated: 25/8/12

#4 Temper

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"Why did XANA choose then to attack?" Yumi shouted.

Odd, her spur of the moment confident, shrugged. She didn't seem to notice as she paced around him, crunching leafs underneath her boots. All in all, he thought that it was a nice scene. The sun was setting, bathing the forest in a golden light that seemed to create shadows on their faces.

He was an artist, after all.

Yumi was not one to take in the tranquility of the scene as she weaved her arms, causing birds to fly away.

She opened her mouth then shut it again without making a sound. She sank to the ground and her hand clutched a rock that she held until she hurled it through the air with a scream.

Odd watched as all around them the air was filled with dark birds, flying away to some unknown future. The sun made them glow.

He wasn't sure what he would have called the painting. 'Flight of the Tortured Soul' was to cliché, but 'Aftermath of a Girl's Rage' was too straightforward.

"Everything was perfect," she hissed.

Odd didn't look at her. 'Tears of a Warrior' was too tantalizing of a name. He didn't tell her that everything was alright now either. She knew that already. But none of them were quite sure this would even work out beyond next Thursday, let alone however long it took Jeremie to materialize Aelita.

And meanwhile, the close calls were getting closer and they had passed their breaking point long ago.


	5. Orientation

Updated: 25/8/12

#5 Orientation

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When they do finally materialize Aelita, they think they do it right. Get the note from Odd's parents, decide on an actual name. They don't make things up as they go along, at least they mostly don't. Aelita does her research on Canada and they practice their cover stories.

It doesn't take long for them to realize it's not enough. The mere mention of that American film, Men In Black gives her nightmares for two weeks and the very sight of wolves causes her to scream more times then not.

She get homesick for a home she's never had and can't return to. They try their best to understand, but they're really kids themselves and they just don't get it.

They try to cheer her up with non-alien movies and nothing with wolves, but even the images of fairies and elves makes her feel like she's missing something, like she's only part of what's she supposed to be.


	6. Helmet

**#6 Helmet**

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Thud! Snap!

Two loud sounds were heard through the air. Jeremy ran to where the sounds had come from.

He was horrified by what he saw. Odd was lying on the cement sidewalk covered in blood and unconscious. One of his arms was bent at an odd angle, and it too, had a lot of blood on it. Jeremy immediately saw the source of bleeding. Odd had been riding his new bike, doing tricks, when he flew off of it, hit his head on the railing, and landed on the cement.

Odd's head was the most bruised up and Odd's bike laid a few feet away, all bent up.

Jeremy pulled out his phone and called the ambulance. He eyed the bike sadly. His friend was seriously hurt now.

Next time he would make sure that Odd wore a helmet.

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**Always wear a helmet! And Review!**


	7. Pressing

#7 Pressing

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"Odd, get to the factory now!"

"But it's my favorite comic book author, and he signing the books! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity! Who know the next time he could be here?"

"Xana is attacking!"

"I'll be there after this!"

"The artist doesn't even come for another two hours."

"So?"

"He's coming back next Thursday."

"So?"

"There are more important things then a comic book artist!" Jeremy yelled.

"Fine, I'll be there," Odd said, his voice had turned cold.

Jeremy instantly felt bad, but this was an emergency, and there were more important things. Odd would I have to deal with it. If Xana got the world, there would be no comic book to sign, no author to sign them, and no fans to want the signatures.

But maybe, just maybe, he would do Odd a favor and launch a trip to the past.


	8. Dumping

**#8 Dumping**

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Odd dumps a lot of girls. Sometimes he's just not interested anymore, sometimes he sees they're just not his type. Sometimes he knows he's not their type. But there is an art to dumping, and he is the master.

If the girl is stuck up, he leaves her waiting for the date, maybe she'll learn from it and be better for her next man.

If the girl is shy, he'll lather her in complements until she can swim on her own. He'll leave her with complements.

If the girl is sweet, he'll be a jerk. Then she won't be heartbroken and she'll learn to stand up for herself.

If he likes another girl, he'll play matchmaker with the girl he is with at the time.

He likes to think that he's doing a favor for everyone, and until he finds the right one for him, he might hurt them. He would have to sooner or later, why not make it sooner so it doesn't hurt as much. Maybe someday he won't have to dump anymore girls. The girls he dumps hate him for doing it to them; how could anyone be so heartless and such a player?

But no one would deny that they're better than they were before they met Odd Della Robbia.

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**Please Review!**


	9. Biography

**#9 Biography**

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Odd had talents.

He could direct movies.

He could act.

He was good at most sports, not the best, but not horrible.

Though he denied it, he could write, and the emotion he put in could chill your bones or warm your heart.

He was funny.

He never gained any weight, and he had a bit of muscle, so and modeling career was possible.

He could get the girls.

He was smooth.

Ulrich just knew that Odd would go far. Sometimes he wondered did he have any influence in Odd's life. Did he change anything? Would Odd look back and remember him, his former roommate and fellow Lyoko Warrior?

Or would he be forgotten.

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Ulrich had talents.

He was brave.

He could fight.

He was an amazing soccor player.

The girls liked him for who he was.

His fashion sense was amazing.

He had morals.

He could care for people.

Odd just knew that Ulrich would go far. Sometimes he wondered did he have any influence in Ulrich's life. Did he change anything? Would Ulrich look back and remember him, his former roommate and fellow Lyoko Warrior?

Or would he be forgotten.


	10. Account

#10 Account

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"Come on Aelita!'

"Where are we going Yumi?"

"Shopping."

"Oh, I don't have any money."

"It's okay, I have some saved up. I'll give you some to start a back account. You can pay me back later."

"How?"

"Well if you get a job, you can put the money in there, and if you get a lot, you can get interest."

"Oh…What's interest?"

"It's like the bank pay you for letting it use your money."

"But don't you keep your money?"

"Well you do, but the bank also uses it for other people."

"So how do you get it back? Or what if they lose it?"

"You know what Aelita, I can't explain how it works, it just does."

"I have a question."

"What?"

"Why does everything in this world have to be more trouble than its worth?"

"I guess people are just like that."

"This whole bank thing sounds confusing."

"It is."

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**Please Review!**


	11. Shade

**#11 Shade**

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It was the hottest day of the year so far.

Sweat was on the faces of all the kids. And to top matters off, the boys' dorm's air conditioning was broken. The majority of students were crowded in the girls' dorm and the school.

Though, if the teachers had been keeping tabs on the students, and where they were, five would be missing.

The five in question were in the old tree on the ground's shadow. It was cooler than the sun light.

And if you though about it, as Jeremy had, they were probably cooler in the hot outside in the shade than they would be squished inside a building with air conditioning with all the body heat building up.

And they could hear each other talking which was not possible in the school. And they fully enjoyed their time together, as it was one of the few times not spent talking about Xana or Lyoko.

Because they were friends, and friends did other things besides fighting evil computer programs.

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**Review Please.**


	12. Knocking

Updated: 19/8/12

#12 Knocking

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"Odd Della Robbia! If you are with a girl I swear I will-"

Ulrich stopped because he wasn't entirely sure what he would do. Something painful without delving into torture.

He pounded on the door again to no avail.

His ears caught the telltale sound of snickers from passersby as they watched Ulrich Stern, Kadic football star, knocking to get into his own room. Big Bad Ulrich must have lost his keys. Hilarious.

Torture wasn't out of the question now.

He put his ear to the door. He didn't hear anything. Slowly, he slipped into the dark roomed and heard the light snoring (give it half an hour and that snoring wouldn't be light anymore).

He shook his head and ruffled Odd's hair. It had been a long day.

He would save the torture for some other time.


	13. Farewell

#13 Farewell

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It was spring break. Ulrich's parents were vacationing in the Caribbean and Odd's parents had graciously invited him to their house. One week with Odd, Ulrich figured, wasn't the worst thing that could happen. He turned to look at Odd.

Odd was wilding smiling as hugged Aelita goodbye and waved at Yumi and Jeremy.

As Ulrich hugged Yumi and Aelita and shook Jeremy's hand, he couldn't help but notice Odd's crazy smile, with just a touch of evil in it and wonder if he was going to survive this time with Odd and his family.

He couldn't help but thinking that this was the last 'goodbye' he would ever say to his friends again.


	14. Norm

#14 Norm

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Odd had always been, well, odd. It was just who he was. Jeremy was smart. Aelita was sweet. Yumi was aggressive and beautiful. And he, Ulrich, was tough and athletic.

Ulrich had to say that, compared to the rest of his family, Odd wasn't as odd as he thought Odd was.

But maybe Odd was the way he was to get attention. You neded to be crazy in this house to even be looked at. And maybe that just tranfered over to school. And maybe he enjoyed getting more than enough attention.

But Odd was definetly not as odd as he seemed at school when you were comparing him with his family.

He didn't know if it was all of his sisters, or maybe his parents. He had been there one night, and he could barely get any sleep over all the racket that the family made. They stayed up late and talked, they sleep talked, and they all snored. At least they're feet didn't smell as bad as Odd's.

No wonder Odd choose to go to a boarding school.

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**Anyone who wants a list of all the words I used or will use, just PM me. Please Review.**


	15. Python

#15 Python

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"This is my pet snake, Wormy. Ulrich, Wormy; Wormy, Ulrich."

"Wormy? He's huge, Odd!"

"He's my little snaky."

Kiwi parked and ran to the snake.

"See, he couldn't hurt a fly."

Ulrich eyed the large snake suspiciously, Odd had Kiwi and wormy. These were the only pets Ulrich knew about, and Odd apparently had thirteen pets and a bunch of stray cats and anything his sisters picked up.

He kept staring at the snake; Odd had mentioned something about starting of showing Ulrich his pets slowly. He did not want to find out what pet number thirteen was, not that he had the choice.

Not for the first time, he wondered how he would survive Odd's house for Spring Break.

But when Odd grins at him, and holds out his poisonous lizard, and tells "Lizzy" to meet his new family, Ulrich can't help but smile, because his parents weren't always there for him.

It was nice to have a family, even if you were afraid that you wouldn't survive your time with them.

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**Please just review, it doesn't take long. There's a poll on my profile which I would please like people to fill out.**


	16. Innocence

**#16 Innocence **

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"Odd Della Robbia! What do you have to say for yourself?"

Odd remained silent and his face remained emotionless.

"You put graffiti all of the walls of our fine school. And you knew that the conference was today. This is very important. You have enough of a nuisance. This will be expulsion.

Odd's face paled, but he said nothing.

Yumi came out of the shadows where she had been watching, "I did it, sir."

"Miss Ishiyama, you are a model student, I expected better of you. Della Robbia, you're off the hook this time."

"But…"

"Go Della Robbia."

Odd gave Yumi one last pitiful, thankful look. Yumi gave Odd a small smile, and Odd knew what this was about.

Odd may have been the one to graffiti the school, and he may be a total annoyance, but Yumi wasn't going to let one of her friends and fellow Lyoko warrior be expelled. She would get in trouble, but not as much as he would have.

Because the group stuck up for each other.

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**Happy Father's day. Please, Please Review.**


	17. Teenager

**#17 Teenager**

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Principal Delmas sighed. It was the gang again. He had even resorted to calling them the gang.

Della Robbia, Stern, Belpois, Stones, and Ishiyama. They didn't do anything dangerous or bad, or at least he didn't think they did. But they where constantly sneaking out of class and getting into trouble. They had the worst attendance records in the entire history of the school. Most people understood that if you paid a lot of money to go to a school such as Kadic, you didn't sneak out.

He thought it over time after time, and though he knew it was them, he didn't have the heart to actually get them in trouble. As long as their grades where good. But still, the nurse did say that they haven't been to her in awhile…

He sighed again, it must be a teenager thing.

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**Review**


	18. Song

**#18 Song

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**"It's nice."

"What's nice Ulrich?" Yumi asked him curiously.

There was a silence, and then an answer, "The quiet."

"If you say so, I guess."

"No listen. Do you hear anything?"

"No, it's peaceful. You can only hear the nature."

"Exactly."

Yumi didn't know exactly what Ulrich was getting at, but she guessed that he didn't either. He had spent a lot of time with Odd recently, and Xana had attacked quite a bit; those could be the reason. She risked a glance over at him.

A bird's song echoed through the forest, and Ulrich looked at peace.

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**Review Please!**


	19. Indicative

**#19 Indicative

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**"And you see that, Aelita," Odd said, "That is a sure sign."

"What's a sure sign of what again?"

"The way that they look at each other, at the exact same time I might add, then they look away. While they look away, they also happen to be blushing, and sneak one last small glance at each other. That is the sign."

"Okay, but what's it a sign of?"

"It's a sign that they like each other."

"Aren't they just friends? That's what she said, I mean?"

"Aelita, Aelita, Aelita," Odd sighed, "that's what you say, you never really mean it, and as your 'cousin', it is my job to teach you the interactions of human behavior."

Aelita sighed, Odd had been using this 'cousin' thing more and more often it seemed. "So they always say it, then why do they lie. Isn't lying a bad thing?"

"It is, usually, but if it doesn't hurt anything it isn't always. They just need to sort their feelings out, and this is the easiest way."

"I still don't think that that means that they like each other."

"Okay, well, we'll have to go see them sparing."

"Are you sure they wouldn't mind us following them?"

"They don't have to know."

"What if they see us?"

"They won't, they're too wrapped up in love to see us."


	20. Venture

**#20 Venture

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**"Are you sure you know what you're doing, Jeremy?"

"Of course I am, its really elementary hacking, Yumi."

She stared hard at the screen. "I just don't think that this is right."

"Yumi, we save the world practically everyday, think of this as a reward for raising a hero from them."

"But it still seems wrong. I mean, isn't it their choice on what happens to who? They are the company, apteral."

"Yumi, we save the world. We need you, plus, we aren't doing much, we're just giving your dad a head start on that project. You said it yourself, his career depends on it, and if it fails, you have to go to Japan. We might not be able to fight Xana without you."

"But aren't we giving him a break that other families don't get?"

"Yes, but other families don't save the world."

Yumi didn't say it, but she wanted to point out that others didn't know that they saved the world; they might as well not know that others saved the world. But she convinced herself that they doing what was right for everybody.

But as much as she tried to feel both guilty and convince herself that it was right, she couldn't stop thinking about another, seemingly more trivial thing.

She had helped Jeremy hack into a computer, and instead of feeling repulsed at herself, she felt a thrill. Hacking had been more fun and exciting than she had though. She would have to take lessons from Jeremy.

Now she knew why he spent so much time in front of his computer.


	21. Best

**#21 Best**

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"You know what Ulrich? Denial isn't just a river in Africa."

"Yeah, says you."

"It's true, and you're in it. You might as well face the truth."

"I am not in it Odd!"

"What are you to fighting about this time?"

"Nothing Yumi."

"It doesn't sound like a nothing to me."

"Ulrich doesn't believe that I'm the best Warrior on Lyoko."

"That's because it's not true!"

"Oh yeah, then who is?"

"Me of course."

Yumi sighed, those two where never going to get it. "Guys lets just get rid of the monsters we have now and we can talk about this later.

But her being the voice of reason just got her hit by a Hornet and devirtualized. Odd and Ulrich kept fighting, and soon both also got devirtualized. Jeremy sighed, at least Aelita had gotten to the tower, but sometimes he wished that they would stop arguing about who was best and show it.

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**I am so, so, so sorry for the long update, and I have no excuses. I'm am uploading three chapters in an attempt at a sorry.  
Please Review, it makes me a happy person!**


	22. Vision

**#22 Vision**

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Odd's eyes flashed open his visions where supposed to be gone, but he guessed they weren't. Apparently Jeremy couldn't do everything on the computer. It was only a matter of time before those got taken away again. But the vision had not been happy.

So when he saw the Krankelot that had done the damage closing in on his friends (who were grouped together) he ran and pushed them out of the way. He saw the Krankelot shoot Aelita once more, and she fell over the edge. His vision had come true.

Luckily Ulrich grabbed her before she fell to far and was lost to them forever. It had all happened in a split second, and soon, Odd realized that he was still flying. He had pushed them out of the way, but he was still sailing through the air.

He watched as he fell over the edge. He reached up to Ulrich's hand which had appeared but it wasn't far enough down, or maybe he wasn't far enough up.

Even as he fell, he didn't regret it, he would do anything to save his friends, and they would do anything to save him.


	23. Close

**#23 Close**

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The group was close. They all had their own specific roles that they followed and that fit together.

They were all friends, as unlikely as it may seem by there personalities at first glance, until you saw that they where all pieces of the puzzle. They needed each other. Without one, the other didn't fit, one piece of the puzzle was gone, it wouldn't have been complete.

So when they saw Odd fall, their instincts screamed to reach out to him, or even to jump and get him. One half a second felt like a million years.

Thankfully Ulrich used those million years to think. He couldn't have grabbed Odd, he tried but it didn't work. But he knew something that would. He threw his sword at Odd. Yumi picked up on what he was doing and threw her fan at his sword, giving it a boost of speed. Aelita was running for the tower, hoping that if need be she could initialize the return to the past.

She didn't need to, because an inch above the water Ulrich's sword hit Odd squarely in the chest, and he devirtualized.

It was a victory, though it was a bit to close for comfort.


	24. Party

**#24 Party**

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"I cannot believe that you guys talked me into this!"

"Relax, Jeremy, you'll have fun."

"But what if Xana attacks?"

"Then we leave."

"Besides, Einstein, you need this."

"Shut up Odd!"

"He's right, Jeremy. You do need this."

"You're not helping Ulrich!"

"Guys, come on, it's starting."

"Sorry Yumi, Jeremy's being stubborn."

"It's not my fault that you're dragging me to this dance. It is completely useless; all you do is stand around and act awkward. What's the point?"

"The point is to have fun."

"But I won't! I'm not a dancing type of person. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go get some punch."

"Okay, bye Jeremy."

"Oh, I love this song! Hey, Aelita, do you want to dance with me."

"Sure Odd."

Ulrich looked at Yumi, and managed to ask if she wanted to dance. She nodded, and the two pairs started dancing, though Odd and Aelita sat out the slow dances, preferring to dance to the songs that were fast and fun.

"Is that who I think it is?"

"What do you me- oh, is that Jeremy?"

"It either is, or our eyesight is going."

"Maybe we should ask Odd and Aelita."

"Yeah, maybe we just danced too much."

Ulrich and Yumi made their way to the other group, and found Odd and Aelita staring at the same thing that they had, along with most of the school, been staring at.

"Is that Jeremy?" they heard Odd mutter.

"It must be," Aelita whispered back, "What's wrong with him?"

"Odd got up and walked to the punch bowl. He lowered his head and sniffed it and took a taste of it. He walked back to his friends and nodded. "It's not spiked. But it does taste like it has a bunch of sugar. And I did detect what tasted like a few energy drinks."

Ulrich groaned, "Of course. Now what do we do about Jeremy?"

They watched their genius dancing badly to the song and shrugged. "We could just leave him like this until it wears out," Odd suggested.

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**Thought a hyper Jeremy would be fun. : ) Please Reviews. Reviews are happiness in written form.**


	25. Content

**#25 Content**

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With the ladies he was sweet.

With the teachers he was snotty.

With family he was normal.

With the jocks he was cool.

With the classmates he was crazy.

With strangers he was fun.

With himself he was honest.

With the principal he was uncaring.

But with his friends, Odd Della Robbia was just fine with being himself. And they were just fine with himself too.


	26. Sox

**#26 Sox**

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"Look at all the colors Yumi!" Aelita exclaimed. "If I wanted, I could have one to go with every single outfit, and I'd still have more than enough!"

"Only if you bought them all," Yumi commented.

"And look at these ones! They're so cute."

"So you want the monkey ones?"

"Yes, but I also want these pink ones, and I want those blue and white striped ones, and oh, there are way to many to choose from."

"Well why don't you get a few pairs to match your usual outfit, and then you can buy some more fun pairs."

"But how will I choose from them all?"

"Just pick the ones you like best."

"But I like them all."

"Aelita, you won five hundred credits to this store, which has everything. Most people would be all over the games, but you want socks. You have enough money to buy all the socks you need."

"I guess you're right."

So Aelita and Yumi left the store, arms filled with bags of socks. This of course, left the store manager wondering what type of girl came into a store with five hundred free credits and left with socks.

He didn't know the answer to his question, but it was; only Aelita did.


	27. Dust

**I am so, so, so, so, so, so sorry for the wait. I cannot believe myself, and this was completely unfair to all of my readers. I'm updating more than one chapter, and I really am truly sorry. I could say I have an excuse, but then I'd be lying.**

**#27 Dust**

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"Jeremy! I can't believe you let your room get so…so messy! Don't you listen to Mrs. Hertz in Science, it's unhealthy and could really hurt yo-"

"Aelita," Jeremy interrupted, "It's just dust, remember last Xana attack, a part of the ceiling fell, the construction guys just finished. I roomed with Odd and Ulrich."

"I'm sure that went well."

"Not to bad, actually, considering all things. I got out relatively unharmed, well except one bruise."

"I was worried about you," Aelita said honestly.

"Odd and Ulrich aren't really that bad, well sometimes they are, but that's a different story."

"No, about the dust, I really thought you would be sick or something worse, I thought that you might be really really hurt!"

"I'm fine, Aelita, I'm fine," was all he could say.

And it was enough for her.

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**Please review, even though I don't deserve it.**


	28. Fashion

**#28 Fashion

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**"What's that he's wearing?"

"Ew! I always thought he was okay, but this?"

"I can't believe the nerve of him, its disgusting."

"Are you getting this, Tamiya, it'll be a great scoop!"

Ulrich scowled as he walked through the hallways of Kadic, listening to the whispers as he passed, with Odd laughing so hard he could barely breath on one of his sides. The other one had Jeremy, Aelita, and Yumi, all smiling, barely containing their own laughter."

Never again, was he going to play truth or dare with these people. It was too traumatic.

* * *

**Please Review!**


	29. Postcard

**#29 Postcard

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**

"It looks so nice."

"You forget warm."

"You're right, it looks so nice and warm, and relaxing."

"His parents are so lucky!"

"And you, are so right."

"Maybe next year they'll take us…we must be better than him, they'll love to take us, it'll be fun!"

Ulrich sunk head into his crossed arms, watching from the corner of his eyes as Odd and Yumi dreamt and fanaticized about being in the place his parents were at this moment in time, and who could blame them? It was the coldest temperature in history for this time of the year, and his parents were on a cruise ship, in the Caribbean?

So they had done the nice thing, and sent their son a post card, because who wants to be on a boat when you could have a postcard? And so, as usual, Yumi and Odd spent the day groveling over it.

And forget he was in there in the process. So Ulrich did the natural thing to do in this situation. He sighed, and went to bed.

* * *

**Please Review!**


	30. Lead

**#30 Lead**

* * *

As the energy bursts of monsters were sent towards them, it seemed to be a second nature for Yumi to send her fans spiraling to them, blocking the blasts, and destroying one enemy.

She jumped up as the fans came back and got them both with one hand. She had destroyed three out of the five monsters, and no matter how much Odd and Ulrich tried, today was her day.

With a roar, she sent both fans slicing through the air: each going an opposite direction towards a monster. They both hit their targets, and after catching them, while looking towards her two boys, she sent them a smile.

She motioned for Aelita to come out from behind the tree that she had been hiding behind, and did a small bow, similar to the one Odd liked doing. "Shall we go to the tower?" she asked. "It seems your knights were ineffective today."

Aelita smiled, and Yumi did too, as they safely made their way to the tower. Ulrich was usually the strongest, and Odd was definitely the most funny, but every now and then; Yumi took her role as the leader, and enjoyed every minute of it.

* * *

**Review Please, and I'm sorry for the wait.**


	31. Hyphen

**#31 Hyphen**

* * *

"You spelled my name wrong."

"No I didn't; Odd Della-Robbia. See: O-D-D space D-E-L-L-A hyphen R-O-B-B-I-A. I spelled it perfectly right."

"No you didn't, it doesn't have a hyphen, it's too words, separated by a space."

"But why doesn't it have a hyphen? That would make it easier on people and tell them that it was one word, instead of having them wonder what a Robbia is."

"You know, Aelita, I don't think anyone really wastes that much time wondering what a Robbia is."

"How would you know, you've never probably needed to think about it. This is just like you, Odd, using something as innocent as your name to confuse people, only for you to catch them off guard. I know your secret now!"

As Odd sheepishly rubbed his head, Jeremy slammed his own into his computer's keyboard. Only Odd and Aelita could be almost as disturbing as Odd and Ulrich, when it came to working on a math assignment together before even starting the assignment.

He was really going to have to start locking his door more often.

* * *

**To be honest, Odd's name could be spelled with hyphen, but I'm pretty sure its not. If it is, then I can change it, but as I said, I don't think it is. Please Review!**


	32. Slowing

**#32 Slowing**

* * *

Jeremy was working on a new program. Sure, he told Aelita that he was eating in his room. Sure he ate a little, but he didn't have time: he was so close; he could almost feel the success at getting it. As soon as he was finished, he would eat more than enough.

And Yumi would ask if he was getting enough sleep. But didn't she see it? Xana didn't care if he was sleeping, and Jeremy didn't either. The program was too important.

And of course, some of the teachers were concerned about his drop in attention, and slight drop in grades. But he was saving them, if they knew what he was doing, they wouldn't even want him to be going to class. This was more important, and he just wished that someone would understand.

Coffee was now Jeremy's best friend.

But as he gulped down some more, he wondered why his mind was still drowsy, and why it wasn't going as fast or as hard as it should.

_Maybe my friends were right abo-_

He never had time to finish that thought, as black filled his vision, and he fell, his face hitting the keyboard, and incidentally, destroying the program that he had worked so hard on.

Jeremy Belpois was last too the world around him, instead preferring to stay in the world of sleep, which he had not visited in too long.

He didn't even hear the faint beeping, coming from his laptop.

* * *

**Please Review!**


	33. Crisis

#33 Crisis

* * *

"Odd, Aelita, hurry up!"

"We're trying, Yumi!"

Yumi stared at the screen, Ulrich was in trouble and Jeremy was still in the nurses office, out cold. She wanted nothing more than to hop in a scanner and help Aelita and Odd, but she knew that the two of them needed her operating the computer.

But Ulrich was in trouble, he could only hang on for so long.

She looked into her screen, and saw in horror, that Odd was devirtualized, of course he was; there were so many monsters. But Aelita was still so far from the tower…

She watched as Xana got closer to Ulrich, which matched how Aelita got closer to the tower. Finally, Aelita entered the tower, and entered the code, and Yumi let out a sigh of relief.

It was over.

* * *

**Reviews make me happy, which means, please leave one.**


	34. Chaos

**#34 Chaos**

* * *

As Jeremy opened his eyes, the sight of Yumi greeted his vision. Though it was not a lovely 'how do you do' greeting, it was a, 'come on, get your butt in gear' greeting. Because Yumi did not look happy, not at all.

"Come on Jeremy, we got to head to the factory, I sent Ulrich ahead, and he's waiting for us, but Odd's trapped in the science room, Xana's releasing poisonous gasses into the halls, and its going to seep into the room soon. We don't have any time to loose!"

She said all of this, while grabbing Jeremy, and practically dragging him towards the family. Nurse Yolanda was not there, as she was getting ready to treat the possibly injured children in the science labs.

As they ran to the factory, Yumi briefed Jeremy on what they had missed. "Xana's gone into overdrive mode, every day has been an attack, sometimes for than one on a day. We can't take this anymore. Ulrich's struggling, and this is Ulrich. I think Odd's on the verge of collapsing, and I'm not sure how permanently, but Xana won't let up at all."

"And you've been manning the super computer?"

"Yeah, but its time for you to get back to that, because I honestly don't know how you can just sit there and watch it unfold, I've been driven crazy by it."

Jeremy nodded. By now, they were at the factory. They rode the elevator, with Yumi being directly dropped off in the scanner room.

He smiled as he stretched his hands out over the keyboard. Yumi might not have liked his job, in the chaos that seemed to be the last few days, but as he started typing, his smile grew.

This was his type of chaos.

* * *

**Okay, seriously guys. I see the hits each chapter gets, and I see the reviews. I'm not one too beg, but it would really help if I got some more support and such. I take constructive criticism, as long as it is constructive.**


	35. Level

**#35 Level**

* * *

"Ulrich!"

"One second Yumi, I'll be right there, I just need to get to the next level, then I'll get off."

"Okay, I'm going to go do one thing. Can I expect you to be ready to go by the time I get back?"

"Yeah, of course you can, I'm not that bad."

"I don't know," Yumi sighed, "You can be, but bye, I'll see you again in a few minutes."

"Bye Yumi," Ulrich replied, his eyes fully focused on his video games. The screen flashed showing that a new level had been won, and he sent Odd a gloating smile. Odd stuck his tongue out in a response. Ulrich's eyes drifted to the door, but seeing no sign of Yumi; he easily pressed the 'continue' button.

------------

"Ulrich!"

"What, Yumi?"

"You're not off!"

"Well, you were only gone for like, five seconds, you can't expect me to finish a level that fast, can you?"

"I was gone for an hour."

"Oh."

"What level are you on now?"

"Twenty-five, I think, maybe twenty-six," Ulrich responded, hesitantly, and awaiting the worst. Yumi looked squarely at him, and raised one eyebrow. And Ulrich, being Yumi's friend, knew what that one eyebrow meant.

"What level were you on when I left?" Yumi continued dangerously.

"Seven, maybe six."

"Did you save your game?"

"I will in just a sec."

"Like the five seconds that I was gone."

"Like as soon as I finish this."

Yumi did not hesitate when she walked over, and flipped off the switch, earning a horrified look from both Ulrich and Odd.

She ignored their stutters with intense satisfaction.


	36. Three

**#36 Three**

* * *

Sometimes, Ulrich thought back to when he first discovered Lyoko. Back when all he simply wanted to do was get rid of a pest which was from a pest of a roommate and to get good grades.

It was the first second that he was on Lyoko. When it was just him, Odd, and Aelita. And the only ones who seemed involved that were humans were him, Odd, and Jeremy. And sometimes, he wondered what would have happened if it stayed that way, or even if Sissi had become one of the three real people to be on Lyoko, but that thought process never lasted long. He wondered what it had happened if he had stayed in the group of four they had, made up of two groups of three. One group of humans: Jeremy, Odd, and himself; and one group of warriars on Lyoko: Aelita, himself, and Odd. He wondered what it would have been like, without Yumi, or Sissi, or William.

Being on Lyoko, with just Odd and Aelita always reminded him of the first time they were on it, and though their first time was short, it had the air of something that they most certainly didn't understand. Adventure was in every single thing he laid his eyes on.

They still didn't understand they mystery that was Lyoko, but it was a bit more clear now than it was then, and Lyoko didn't contain the exciting adventure and mystery in the same quantity that it had the first time. It was the first time, where it seemed like it was _his_. He might have shared it with Odd and Aelita, so it was theirs, but it felt like it was where he belonged.

Ulrich would never tell Yumi, that sometimes, and very rarely at that, he wished that she had not stuck her nose in their business, and Lyoko had still been _theirs_. Because even though her showing up changed nothing about Lyoko, he sometimes associated her presence with Lyoko not being a fairytale world.

Sometimes, he only wanted three.

* * *

**Quick note: I don't not like Yumi. But I was just wondering a bit about it, I mean, originally, it was just them, even if it was for five minutes or less, but that's plenty of time to get a feeling for the place. And I have been focusing on her for a bit; but that's mostly trying to even every character out.**


	37. Capability

#37 Capability

* * *

Ulrich grinned at Yumi, and she gave him a swift nod in return. Jeremy's bored voice sounded over the land as he counted down. Both Ulrich and Yumi shifted into starting position, ready to jump into action at a moment's notice.

_Seven, Six, Five, four, three, go!_

Startled by Jeremy's seemingly lack of memory towards the natural order of backwards numbers and counting down, Ulrich and Yumi were both caught off guard. But it only lasted a split second as the two burst from their starting positions, slashing monsters with all their might.

Ever since Yumi had beaten Ulrich, he had been dying for a rematch. And this was the first day that the alert didn't seem as threatening as usual, and Jeremy…well Jeremy was getting sick of Ulrich's constant asking of when they could try and see who could kill the most monsters.

Back on Earth, Jeremy couldn't help but look at the screen, a bewildered expression on his face. How, when the world was truly in danger, it took Ulrich and Yumi longer to get rid of each monster than it did when they were competing, he would never understand.

Maybe, just maybe some lying would be in order in the near future. Maybe…

Who was he kidding? He'd totally be lying from here on out.


	38. Composite

**#38 Composite**

* * *

Aelita fingered the rock before she tossed it to her other hand and back again. It seemed so inanimate…so lifeless (which were actually good things for rocks to be). She continued tossing it back and forth between her hands and sighed.

She had a test tomorrow and the last thing she wanted to do was study, though she probably didn't need to. She still liked to though. It at least made the other kids think that she was normal and got good grades because she worked for them. She sighed and turned back to her textbook. She didn't even hear the person sneaking up behind her.

"Hey Aelita, what's up?" Yumi asked, smiling.

"Oh, I'm just studying for a test."

Yumi nodded and looked at the book and flipped to the page Aelita was looking at, the one about rocks. Then, she bent down began to read. "Composite rocks, huh?"

"Yep, we have a test over them tomorrow."

Yumi smiled and handed the book back to Aelita. "I always liked rocks. You know, volcanoes, earthquakes I was good at that type of thing." She thought about it for a moment before saying, "and not just because Japan has earthquakes and a lot of mountains."

Aelita smiled, which was probably Yumi's goal. Yumi asked if Aelita wanted any help. Aelita shrugged and said that it wouldn't hurt.

So Yumi grabbed a dictionary from her backpack. "Look, it says that composite is basically a bunch of things that make one. And a composite rock is a bunch of different rocks that forms one rock. Think of it this way…" she trailed off as she looked up, trying to think of a good example. Finally she snapped her fingers together.

Yumi bent down and began drawing stick figures. One with spiky hair, one with a sword, one with a computer, one with short hair and a dress, and one with boots. She then drew a circle around all five of the figures. "See, we're all different, but we make up the same group. We're all like the little rocks, and our group makes up the big rock. Do you understand it now?"

Aelita nodded and Yumi smiled and walked away, leaving Aelita to herself.

She really hadn't needed help, she had understood it fine. Though she couldn't resist smiling.

The analogy had been nice. Unnecessary, but nice.

* * *

**Sorry for the wait. Though sadly, that's become something to expect. Small disclaimer: I don't know what people in France learn and when they learn it. That's just how it is. If I made a mistake that you noticed, feel free to tell me. Please review. Remember, reviews make me more inspired to write, which means quicker updates. Though I'll try to update fast this time, regardless. And as usual when I take a while to update, a few more chapters will come out at once.**


	39. Frank

**#39 Frank**

* * *

Delmas walked back from the nurse and patted Ulrich on the back.

Ulrich seemed numb to the touch and Delmas doubted that the boy had even felt his touch, but he had proved Delmas wrong my looking up, his eyes filled with questions. It didn't take long for the questions to get to his mouth, though his brain still was in shock, and really didn't take the time to sort out what to ask. The jumble of words that came out of his mouth was something that no one could possibly understand. The first clear sentence that came out of his mouth was the one the principal had expected and prepared for.

"How is he?"

Delmas sighed, "I'm going to be frank with you, Ulrich, if only because I feel you have the right to know and that you can be responsible about it. He's out of surgery, but at this point, they honestly don't know how he's going end up. They will do anything and everything they can."

Ulrich nodded and looked away. The principal braced himself for a few hours of awkward silence, but Ulrich again proved wrong him wrong, this time by talking. "It wasn't his fault. We were just walking. The car came out of nowhere. We didn't do anything, he didn't do anything. It isn't fair."

"I know it isn't fair, but this is how it is now. You can't change the past."

Ulrich lifted his hand and felt the long scratch going across his cheek. "I wish I could."


	40. Crazy

**#40 Crazy**

* * *

Ulrich was going crazy, Jeremy decided.

First, the older boy had burst into Jeremy's room (at three in the morning) muttering darkly. Jeremy couldn't really understand what he was saying; though he's pretty sure he heard the words watermelons, Dumbo the Friendly Clown, and Tetris. There may have been something about sea turtles, but Jeremy was pretty sure that sea turtles had not been said and it was Ulrich's heavy breathing.

A few minutes later, Ulrich fell asleep. He was talking in his sleep, because even though sane!Ulrich didn't make a single sound while he slept, crazy!Ulrich sure did. His murmurings in sleep were easier to understand than his heavy breathing and muttering combination from earlier. This time he said something along the lines of antelopes, cacti, and airplanes.

It was when Ulrich woke up and tried to tackle the computer that Jeremy really started getting worried. This odd behavior could only be explained by Xana, so Jeremy did what Jeremy did best and woke Aelita up to go deactivate the tower. Aelita, who is not a morning person, did what he told her to, though very grumbly. Well, at least he was pretty sure she did what he wanted her too. She might have gone back to sleep.

Odd was no where to be found, which Jeremy would have found strange since it was only three thirty by now, but the epitome of strangeness was Ulrich barking at ants on the outside of the school, and in comparison, Odd's whereabouts at three in the morning weren't that interesting. The thought that maybe Ulrich had murdered Odd crossed Jeremy's mind, and he would have checked, but decided that if Odd had been murdered, he was probably the lucky one, as now Ulrich had managed to get himself stuck in a trashcan in a tree.

In the process of getting Ulrich out of the tree, Jeremy fell down. Before he passed out, he could see Aelita grumbling about this was why he shouldn't wake people up and now she couldn't get her beauty sleep. Jeremy wondered when Aelita got fangs and claws because he could swear that she had not had them before. Before he could ask, he passed out.

Jeremy woke up with a jolt. He looked at his alarm clock and gave a sigh of relief. It was two fifty-nine in the morning. He had just had a horrible nightmare.

The clock turned to three.

Then, his door burst open and Ulrich came in, angry and muttering about watermelons, Dumbo the Friendly Clown, and Tetris.

* * *

**I don't really know if this was that funny, but hopefully you guys got a chuckle or two from this. Really, I don't really like doing crack stories often, but I felt that a few times would be nice. Plus, it was the only thing that came to my head, and really, this story is too serious sometimes. Especially after last chapter. I liked writing it, and it really had no plot. If you thought it was horrible, tell me gently. Please review. Explanation is next chapter.**


	41. Sympathy

**#41 Sympathy**

* * *

Jeremy was in counseling. The reasoning: because he either had ESP, or really horrible nightmares. Or a combination of the two. When he got out of therapy, he saw his friends waiting for him.

"We're sorry you had nightmares," Aelita said. She then turned away so that she wasn't looking at Jeremy. He heard a weird noise that he was almost certain was a sniff or a snort, and since Aelita wasn't a pig, he assumed it was a sniff. He sighed to himself; she must be taking this pretty hard to be crying for him, and not even letting him see it.

Jeremy patted him on the shoulder, and smiled. Jeremy had seen Odd's struggle to keep the smile off his face, though Odd had lost his silent battle within himself. "It's okay, Odd," he said, "I know that it doesn't look good, and that you don't want to give me false hope, you just do whatever makes you comfortable."

He then turned to Aelita, "Aelita, don't cry. I'm sure we'll figure this out." Finally, he turned to his other to friends and gave a solemn nod.

That night, he was in his room, clearing his mind so that he didn't have dreams about crazy Ulrichs and vengeful Aelitas. There was a knock at his door. He wasn't prepared so he jumped up, ready to run to the counselor. But then he remembered that Ulrich burst into his room, he didn't knock politely. So Jeremy opened the door to find Odd standing outside.

He let Odd into his room and Odd uncomfortably cleared his throat. "What do you want, Odd," Jeremy asked pleasantly.

"Well, remember that dream you had, were you kept having the same dream inside your dreams."

"Yes, I went to therapy for it."

"Well, you see, you only had one dream. We were having a party in your room, and you fell asleep. And you sleep talk really badly, so we knew everything that was going on, so we had you wake up at three, and kept redoing the same thing over and over. Me and Yumi stayed behind to set the alarm back to three o' clock."

Odd stared at the floor, uncomfortable again.

"Why'd you do this?"

"Well, we needed to show Aelita how to really prank people. It was my idea. Plus, you should know better than to fall asleep at a party."

"No," Jeremy said, "I know why you did the action. I thought something was up, you see, after my therapy today I did a mental checklist myself and couldn't find anything wrong with me. I want to know why you're admitting to it."

"Oh," Odd said. "I drew the shortest straw. We didn't want this to go on forever, well, I would have been fine if it did, but Aelita and Ulrich and Yumi- they all have a conscience and wanted to tell you. I drew the shortest straw so I had to tell you. Believe me, I would have let you sweat it out a few more days…or years."

And Odd walked away, whistling.

* * *

**I honestly enjoyed writing this one. **


	42. Repitition

**#42 Repetition**

* * *

When Jeremy had first discovered the supercomputer, he had been excited. Why shouldn't he have been excited? It was an exciting the first time in his life, he was special for something other than his brain. When he and his friends started battling Xana, he was special because he was doing something. He was a key part in saving the world.

Sure you could argue that it was his fault the world needed saving in the first place. But it was the most amazing thrill he would ever feel. He would find himself waiting for an attack, waiting for the thrill to return. He was pretty sure they all had. Lyoko and Xana became their life.

Now it was a nuisance more than anything.

Hear about the attack, fight Xana, risk their lives, win at the last minute, claim no reward, maybe learn a thing or two, repeat.

Sometimes Jeremy lamented at the fact that defeating Xana had lost its thrill.

And sometimes Jeremy wonders. And one question will cross his mind.

_When did fighting Xana become such a repetition?_


	43. Iron

**#43 Iron**

* * *

Iron seemed to have everything going for it. It was magnetic, important enough to be on the periodic table, and really, an adjective that mean strong and fierce, for lack of better words.

When someone was iron, it meant they'd never give up. And this was seen as good thing. Did people ever use iron to describe something wrong? Well, maybe they did, but it was generally seen as a compliment.

Sometimes Jeremy wished he was iron. Not the mineral, but important enough that he could known. He wished he was magnetic, maybe not in the real sense of the word, but enough so that he could get a date every now and then. He was weak, mostly from skipping out on physical education class, and even if he didn't, he wouldn't be strong, just adequate.

He never tried to give up, things just never worked out for him. He was called geek, nerd, brainiac, and even though he knew his friends meant them in the nicest way possible, it didn't mean that they didn't hurt. Jeremy sighed and put up with it, which isn't what iron would do, but it was what a Jeremy would do.

One day, he was going to be called iron. Somehow.


	44. Lunch

**#44 Lunch**

* * *

It had been a pretty stressful week with almost a record breaking number of Xana attacks, and Sissi was not helping to improve Ulrich's mood. She was yammering on about something, Ulrich was pretty sure he caught the words makeup show, tomorrow evening, and date somewhere in her incessant talking.

That was all Ulrich needed to make his decision. "No."

Sissi smiled. "Oh I just knew you'd co- wait, did you say no?"

Ulrich smiled, "I'm not going with you Sissi, I already have plans," he lied.

"Yep," Yumi said, improvising, "we're having a movie night at my house. Maybe next time." Yumi laughed, as everyone in their gang. That is, until the wad of mashed potatoes flew through the air and hit Yumi square in the face.

Yumi glared up at Sissi, who smiled back at her, "oops, my bad."

A wad of Brussels sprouts hit Sissi in response, and Odd yelled, "food fight!" loud enough for the entire cafeteria to hear.

Soon, food was flying everywhere and students were laughing, but none so much as Yumi and Sissi.

After the teachers ended the fight, Odd, Ulrich, Jeremy, Yumi, Aelita, and Sissi were sent to her father's office. To everyone's surprise (including herself), Sissi made up some elaborate plan and took all the blame which was so unexpected (even though she really had started it) that it was all the group of friends could do and stare at her.

Her father asked them if that was true. Odd was the first one who recovered and confirmed her story.

Outside the office, the group of friends sighed and went to talk to Sissi.

On Sunday, she was at Yumi's house, watching movies and laughing with them like she was an old friend.

By Monday, they were glaring daggers at one another, and no one was any wiser.


	45. Requisite

**#45 Requisite**

* * *

"Hey Ulrich, do you need any help with your homework, I mean, we have a test coming up and I was just wondering if you wanted a studying buddy or something."

"No thanks, Aelita, I actually get this stuff we're covering. But thanks for asking."

"Oh, no, it's okay, I'm just bored. Remember, my door's always open if you have a problem."

* * *

"Hey Yumi, I was thinking, maybe we could go shopping. There's a dance in a few weeks, isn't there, and I know how you always want us to wow everyone."

"Well, that's true, but my mom and I were out shopping the other day, and I found this really amazing dress. So I already have one. Don't worry though, next dance, we'll totally go shopping before it. I'm glad you're getting the hang of all this earth stuff.

"Yeah, I am too. Well, bye."

"Talk to you later."

* * *

"Hey Odd, do you want to go somewhere and hang out sometime tomorrow?"

"Sorry, I can't. Samantha's in town and we were going to go meet up in the movies and hang out all day. Any other day I could, but she can only be here for certain days and stuff, you know."

"Don't worry, I understand."

* * *

"Jeremy, do you need any help?"

"Sorry, Aelita, I really just need for it to be quiet. I almost have this. But you really had to be here for the first part to understand what's happening. But I may be able to use your help on the next one."

"I'll be there."

* * *

Sometimes Aelita had to accept the hard parts of life on Earth. Like the facts that her friends don't always want or need her around. Sometimes they don't need her to explain something, make them look amazing, hang out with them, or even just help. Sometime's she's just there.

But when she enters the tower or when one of them calls her at three in the morning, asks for studying help, drags her to the mall, hangs out with her, or asks her opinion on a program to run, she knows that she's necessary. And she knows that she's loved.

And that makes it all worth it.

* * *

**Just a heads up, I posted a new story, "Hostage Situation" on my other account, Yayfully Free (which I share). Check it out!**


	46. Solid

**#46 Solid**

* * *

"Are you okay Ulrich?"

"I'm fine, Yumi."

"Are you sure? You don't look so good."

"I'm **fine,** Yumi," Ulrich grumbled.

"He's right, Yumi," Odd said. "He never looks good. This is no different."

"Ha ha, very funny, Odd," Ulrich groaned. He grabbed the hand mirror Yumi was offering him. His face was a mass of purple and brown bruises, with a bit of red from a cut above his eye and another on his cheek.

Two of Yumi looked down at him. They both looked oddly concerned. "Ulrich, I really don't think this is alright."

Ulrich responded by trying to get up. The world went fuzzy and swayed a bit as he crashed right back down on the bed.

"Yumi's right, buddy," Odd said, maybe a bit concerned, "I really don't think you're okay."

"What can I say?" Ulrich mumbled, almost incoherent. The world was turning grey. "Jim hits pretty hard. Though that may have been Xana's doing."

And then he passed out.


	47. Control

**#47 Control**

* * *

"What do you think being Xanafied is like?" Aelita asked Jeremy one day.

"I don't know," Jeremy said. "They can never remember what happened, so I guess Xana probably takes complete control of their brain. They probably don't even realize what's happening, they might just feel like they're asleep or something."

"That would be awful. Do you think they can try to fight for control?"

"They probably can at first, but Xana strikes when no one is expecting it, not that they can expect it, they don't realize he exists. So some might, but most probably don't realize what's going on before it's too late."

Aelita shuttered. "But we don't know what's its like. It could be painful. It could be the worst pain imaginable, and we wouldn't know."

Jeremy looked down at his hands. "There's always that risk."

Aelita looked at him square in the eyes. "Do you think that if people knew, they could fight it?"

Jeremy's gaze returned to his hands. But the feeling he felt was not new. It was just one moment in a series of self doubts.


	48. Overall

**#48 Overall**

* * *

"Okay," Jeremy said. "Let's see here. Odd destroyed the most monsters this week, as usual, with nine bloks, four kankrelots, five hornets, two krabes, and a megatank."

"Gosh, Jeremy, you make it sound like a screwed up version of the Twelve Days of Christmas, not a total of twenty-one heroic accomplishments accomplished by moi! What is this, the third week in a row of me defeating the most monsters?"

"Well, of course you can," Ulrich said, "you almost always go to Lyoko."

"Only because you and Yumi are doing that lovey-dovey-nearly-getting-killed-by-Xana thing you always do!"

Ulrich had no response, and there was a hint of a blush on Yumi.

Jeremy coughed to get their attention as held out a notebook. "What were the attacks or life or death situations you got into this time?"

"Well," Ulrich said, "Xana poisoned the food, which didn't affect you at all since you didn't eat, and it made me, Yumi, Aelita uncomfortable, since we only had one serving." He paused for a second. "It nearly killed Odd, since he had five helpings that day. Maybe six. And then I almost got burned alive. Oh, and let's not forget the exploding paint."

"Or when you were chased by killer soccer balls," Odd snickered, "or when the octopus at the aquarium escaped and latched itself on to you."

"I rode in a cab with a possessed driver," Yumi said. "He drove into a lake. And my family and I were almost killed when he possessed the termites to eat our house and anyone in it."

Jeremy nodded and wrote it down. "And let's not forget the email sent out to people, which when opened, caused you to become a mindless slave. Anything else?"

The group shook their head. Jeremy looked down at his paper. "Pretty busy week for Xana," he murmured. "But overall, not too bad."

And in a week, they would be back, tallying up the attacks and the monsters killed. Acting like whatever they did was normal enough to keep lists. It was a heartbreaking tradition, and it was outrageous, but in some ways, it was the only thing keeping them sane.

* * *

**A/N: I'm particularly happy with how this one turned out, especially the end. Review Please!**


	49. Toss

**#49 Toss**

* * *

Milly woke with a start, a look of horror on her face. She wasn't sure what the nightmare had been about; though while she dreamed she had remembered every detail.

She looked over to make sure Tamiya was still asleep, which she was. As silent as she could, Milly took deep breaths, clearing her thoughts of whatever the dream had been.

This wasn't the first time she had this nightmare. Even if she couldn't remember what it was about, she knew it wasn't new.

She reached for her bear, before deciding against it.

Tonight, the bear just made things worse.

* * *

**Exactly 100 words! How's that? Just a note: I love the sort of theory that while you forget what happens, your subconcious remembers the Return to the Past trips. In this one, I had Milly dream about Teddygodzilla. Props if you got that!**


	50. Apparatus

**#50 Apparatus**

* * *

Ulrich placed the tickets in the middle of the table and sat down without a word. Odd, the first to grab a ticket, read it with a scrutinizing look before smiling and turned to Ulrich.

"Scuba diving?" he asked, with more or less of a smirk on his face.

"I thought we could use a break."

"I can't argue with that," Yumi said with a smile. "So we're all going together?"

"Yeah, over vacation."

"But what if there's a XANA attack?"

"Jeremy, the airline tickets are booked, I really don't think you have a choice in this matter."

And they walked away: Odd and Yumi smiling and talking, Ulrich looking pleased with himself as Aelita asked him questions, and Jeremy muttering about insane, kidnapping friends.

* * *

**I'm sorry this took so long, I wanted to make it special, being fifty and all, but I don't think it really worked the great. Anyway, I would like to thank all of you who have reviewed this for the first half, and please continue on the second half. Props go out to **

**ModernDayRapunzel  
Trainalf  
****PeaceToThePeople**

**Who all really helped me get through this story so far with their semi-regular reviews. And to anyone and everyone else who has been reading this. **

**Fifty down, fifty to go.**


	51. Murder

#51 Murder

* * *

"In other news, a man was found dead in his home today. Paramedics responded to the call around four this afternoon. According to his wife, he fell with no warning in the middle of talking to her. The reason he died is still a mystery, with the doctors saying that he seemed to have suffered a heart attack. Police are investigating and have not ruled out foul play."

Jeremy got up and quickly turned off the TV before it could show the next story. The other four stayed completely silent for a few minutes.

"Four o' clock," Ulrich said. "There was a Xana Attack and we returned at about four." He looked at Jeremy. "You don't think…"

Jeremy turned and looked out of the window without saying a word. Aelita was just staring at the screen, a look of surprise and horror on her face. Odd had his head leaning on the chair and his eyes closed. But his eyebrows were creased and there was a pained expression on his face.

Yumi moved a little closer to Ulrich, crushing him between her and Odd. She stared at him, and in a low, small voice, whispered, "I do think."

They had just murdered a man.


	52. Lighter

#52 Lighter

* * *

Yumi wasn't going to lie, the stab wound hurt. A lot.

Ulrich wasn't going to lie, it was getting harder and harder to breath.

Jeremy wasn't going to lie, his vision was too blurry for him to see the computer in front of him.

Odd wasn't going to lie, the sea was below him and he was loosing his grip.

Aelita wasn't going to lie, she didn't think she could run any faster and she was pretty sure she wouldn't get to the tower in time.

But then Yumi stopped feeling pain, while Ulrich stopped breathing and Jeremy's eyes closed. Odd's grip slipped and he dropped.

And while all of them were still alive, they were on the verge of death, and their bodies didn't seem to exist anymore. And Odd was falling and Aelita was running.

And then she hit the tower and she felt herself rise, willing herself to go faster and Jeremy pressed his hand to where he knew the return to the past button was.

And everything seemed so much better when they all met up with each other, even if the only thing each person knew was how close they themselves had come to death, and not the tale of the one sitting next to them.

It didn't really matter.

* * *

Let's try to get this one to hit five reviews! S'il vous plait.


	53. Interface

**#53 Interface**

This goes out to Bookworm600, who wanted a sequel to last chapter. I tried as hard as I could. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Aelita could see things through the computer that no one else could in real life. She saw the way Odd dodged the glass of water by Jeremy, or the way Ulrich took each breath like it was his last and the most amazing thing at the same time, or how Yumi clutched the area by her shoulder (oh, so close to her chest), or even how Jeremy had to clear his vision every now and then.

She saw their scars when they thought she wasn't looking. She heard their cries during the night, when they all bunked together because they couldn't be alone. She saw the way they looked at each other as if they couldn't believe it was for real.

And then, she stopped seeing things, and started feeling. She could feel the shudders of a friend as she gripped their shoulders and held them close. She could feel the beat of a pulse underneath he fingers and the relief felt from it. She could feel her body swaying against the stiff one behind her.

She could feel the pure exhaustion, the heartbreak and the heartbreaking relief, the pain, and the numbness. She wasn't seeing it, she was feeling it, breathing it, living it.

And yet, it was alright. She could be happy. Because she didn't have to watch as Yumi slowly took her boys (all three of them) into a group hug or as Ulrich quietly checked them for injuries. She didn't have to hear Odd try to calm them with jokes or watch as Jeremy frantically tried to make sure whatever problem never happened again.

The friendship was tangible. And she lived it.

* * *

A couple points of notice/awesomeness for this chapter, guys.

-Last chapter, I asked for five reviews, and got all five reviews!

-This story has finally accumulated over 10,000 hits!

-Also, if you want to suggest something that you would like happening, leave me a review and I may or may not use it (though if I do use it, I will point out who left me the idea).

I love you guys.


	54. Button

#54 Button

* * *

Jeremy's dress shirt was buttoned all the way up and tucked in, Aelita noticed. It was very professional. Odd's dress shirt was buttoned part of the way up to the top, and part of the way down. The back had originally been stuffed in, but it later came out. It was not very professional looking.

Jeremy also had a plan for where he would be in five years, ten years, twenty, and probably all the way to death. And he would probably achieve it. Odd barely had a plan for the next five minutes.

Jeremy devirtualized her, but she saw Odd first. And Jeremy told Aelita where the monsters appeared, but Odd would jump in between the blasts and her. Jeremy would comfort her when she down, Odd would maker her forget why she was down.

But while Odd would beg her for her serving of lunch, Jeremy would give her his because she looked hungry. Odd would laugh off her problems, Jeremy would be the one to shut up and listen. Odd with have to be prompted, Jeremy would answer her questions without her asking.

Jeremy gave her wings; Odd taught her that she didn't always need them to fly.

Odd would always smile for her; Jeremy was the first one she smiled at.

And as she looked at them, wearing their formal clothes and joking around, she just seemed so lost. Spontaneity versus stability. Impossible to choose between.

It was a matter of opinion, but she had two.

* * *

This was for Trainalf, who requested something involving this love triangle. Hope you guys enjoyed!


	55. Usage

#55 Usage

* * *

One day, when she asked if he would go to the dance with her, Ulrich said yes.

This genuinely surprised Sissi, though at the same time, didn't. Out of the corner of her eye, she had seen William and Yumi walking, a triumphant and blissful smile on William's face.

She was torn between happiness of going to the dance with her crush and anger at said crush since he cared so little about her that he would do this for revenge (without considering how she felt). She was also angry at herself, because she just couldn't give him up.

So she fought back the only way she could. She dressed amazingly, but in ways that she knew Ulrich would appreciate (even if he would never admit it). She was the perfect lady at the dance. She didn't complain or insult anyone, she smiled graciously, didn't talk about herself, and provided intelligent conversation.

By the end of the night, something had changed inside Ulrich, she could see it. She saw the amazement in his eyes, the surprise, the confusion, the guilt.

Later that week, he asked her in secret- of course it was secret- if she would consider coming with him to the next one.

"No," she said to him, "I don't like being used, Ulrich Stern."


	56. Sophisticate

#56 Sophisticate

* * *

Ulrich's father wasn't always the way he was now. He used to be, well, just like Ulrich, to an extent. He wasn't as good at sports as Ulrich (because Ulrich got all known athletic talent from his mother) and he was better at school than Ulrich, but the basic sense of justice and outlook on life was, more or less, the same.

Ulrich knows this from things his mom, his uncles and ants, and family friends have told him.

"_You're dad was just like you."_

"_You're going to grow up to be just like your dad."_

"_You're a chip off the old block."_

And some nights, Ulrich stays up late thinking about it. Because he's not going to be like his father, he refuses, one hundred percent. He'll try to make his father proud and he'll try to do whatever he needs to do, but he's not going to be like him.

His father was power hungry, wanted it more than almost anything. And Ulrich's already had more power than his father has ever had. He's held the fate of the world in his hands.

And if that didn't corrupt him, what else could?

He still worries.


	57. Brilliant

#57 Brilliant

ModernDayRapunzel's Request

Aelita kisses Jeremy on the cheek and turned back to look at the computer. She doesn't see him numbly take his hand and hold it to the spot. It burns against his skin like a small sun, he thinks.

They go back to playing the computer game (and winning, might he add) without say anything. Fifteen minutes later, their game ends and they officially win, with the points of all the other players combined adding up to be less than their score.

"You're a genius, Jeremy," Aelita says.

He waves a hand down casually. "Aelita, you were amazing! It was all you."

Aelita smiles at him in a way that she could have only learned from mimicking Odd. Only it's brighter than his, more perfect, he thinks. It doesn't blind him, per se, but it tones down everything else.

He smiles in return, in a way he hopes is a fraction of as breath-taking as hers.


	58. Experimentation

#58 Experimentation

* * *

Jeremy's first idea that the experiment wasn't going well was Yumi's scream. Then she shouted his name in a way that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up and every single instinct he had screamed at him to get away, getaway, and getawaygetaway.

But, he wasn't one of his warrior ancestors of old. He was a scientist.

So he stood his ground as Yumi came thumping down the stairs, but not before he heard Sissi's shriek and then Ulrich's shout combined with Odd's laughter.

He reached up and rubbed his temples. It was going to be a long day.


	59. Roman

#59 Roman

* * *

When in Rome do as the Romans.

Sissi understood the principal of the quote. She just didn't believe that any good would come of it. Why be something other than Sissi Delmas? What could she possibly gain by doing that?

So when she passed Ulrich and his group in the cafeteria, the thought of a personality shift never crossed her mind. The thought of being anything other than _herself_ was simply not present.

She didn't realize that she didn't have to _change,_ just tweak a few things her and there, smooth out the rough edges of her personality.

Like a manicure. She'd emerge smoother, cleaner, and prettier. Also with a fresh coat of paint, but when it disappeared it would still leave something more beautiful than the original.

When in Lyoko do as the Warriors.

She never figured it out.

* * *

Shameless advertising: If you check my profile, you'll see a link to Xana's Lair (that doesn't work since links aren't working currently). If you go there, you'll find a lovely forum where we're doing fanfiction awards! And I know you guys (obviously) read fanfiction, so head over and nominate your favorites!


	60. Outcry

#60 Outcry

A/N: KittyAttack's request, Odd Ulrich friendship watching Horror Films. Helped along by watching too much Psych (and my love for Odd and Ulrich friendship). BTW, two more reviews and I'm at 100. :D

* * *

Due to some rather unforeseen circumstances involving mace, flammable hair spray containers, business meetings in Peru, snakes, and Odd's newfound allergy to bugs, Odd and Ulrich found themselves in a Hawaiian hotel in the midst of a horrible storm.

Of course, due to Odd's allergy, they couldn't go outside anyway, so that storm was really rather pointless. It was the third day of boredom and the two were about to kill each other (Ulrich had made a rather shady deal that ended up cyanide in his possession and Odd had practiced throwing knives with a scary and surprising amount of accuracy).

So they did the friendly thing and tried to talk about their problems and stay out of each other's business. It worked for about three minutes and then they began wrestling around on the floor.

Just as Ulrich had Odd in a chokehold and Odd was going for his knives, they bumped against the remote and the television came on. They stared, transfixed by the flickering screen. It showed a dark house with weird noises. Numbly, the two boys walked over to the couch and began to watch.

A horror movie marathon. The lightening outside flashed.

Morning found the two boys, huddled together (later they would deny that they were hugging). They were shaking and hugging and when one went to the bathroom the other would stand at the door to make sure no murderers got to them.

Suddenly the screen flashed to show a horrible person with sharp fangs dripping with blood and crazy eyes.

They both gripped each other harder and screamed.


	61. Comprehensive

#61 Comprehensive

* * *

Every now and then, when a Xana attack was just too bizarre for there to be anything but a Return to the Past (poisoned lollipops or outbreak of possessions didn't need one, but floating hairclips and T-rexes did, however) the Lyoko Warriors would experiment a little.

One day, during an attack in which all the clown that took part of a clown-convention were possessed, they told Milly about Lyoko.

Tamiya was the infamous vampire incident (which they could have pulled off without a return trip if they didn't owe it to Jim to keep him from getting fired- this time by trying to drain a student's blood).

They've told Sissi countless times, and she's figured it out herself countless other times.

Jim's known before, but he also learned again when Ulrich was attacked by poisonous slugs and the warriors had to convince him to drive them to the factory.

William eventually found out for real (and what a lot of good that did him).

Emily's known, Taelia's known, heck, even Mike has known (that was a particularly weird day).

But each time they've told someone, there's always a look of pure comprehension (like they understand everything perfectly now, like the universe finally makes sense, like they're not as crazy as they thought) before it's replaced with the confusion their brains convince them they need.


	62. Feedback

#62 Feedback

* * *

Xana never made their lives easy. Whenever there was a test to study for or a date to go on or even an event to go to, you could guarantee that there would be a Xana Attack. As if the program knew.

One memorable (if not particularly threatening) incident was the seventh attack in four days. The Lyoko Warriors were _tired._ And so was Xana. The program had fallen to attacks of a lower quality.

Giving the whole school food poisoning was annoying, but tended to not strike fear into the hearts of humanity.

The most recent attack took place in the gym, where the Pop Rock Progressives were giving their first show.

And none of the microphones would work. And if they did produce a sound, it was a whiny high-pitched squeal, causing the entire audience to cover their ears and squeeze their eyes shut. Not a good combination for a show, and not something a band ever wanted to see.

They sang and played as much as they could, but it simply wasn't enough, not with the less-than-great acoustics in the gym. That being coupled with the fact that three of the band members had to leave before half the concert was over.

One bad review published in Milly and Tamiya's paper, and their band was over before it began.

Just another instance of lost childhood.

* * *

Huge shout out goes to Mara Schaeffer, who really kept me thinking about this fic! :D


	63. Tune

A/N: I've redone the first four chapters, more to come. Check those out!

#63 Tune

* * *

Her room was absolutely silent. Her eyes were closed. Her computer was recording. Her door was locked and everyone was out enjoying the gorgeous day. Jeremie was working in his room. Ulrich was sick. Yumi and Odd had decided to visit him in the infirmary. And Aelita was waiting.

Her foot started moving first. _Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap._

Then she found herself humming, and then her fingers were predicting the sounds, dancing across the small electronic keyboard that she had bought the other day. She didn't know the lyrics, but she sung, improvising as she went along.

The sounds all blended together, and when she had sung nonsense for five minutes, she stopped and turned to her computer. She saw her work- her masterpiece- as a series of lines and smiled. She cracked her knuckles and began to edit.

As she edited, she looked off to the side at a drawing that still took her breath away. Swirls of color surrounding seven figures- they're new group. At the bottom, white words clearly state the title. _Schaeffer. _Below that, the artist name is shown. _Aelita Stones._

Her first album. Done.

She can't help but smile even though she can feel the tears prickling at the back of her eyelids.

Her father would be proud.


	64. Resolve

A/N: Soul Jelly is amazing.

#64 Resolve

* * *

They had never made any promise to always be there for each other. Ulrich was too afraid of the future and Odd was too afraid of commitment.

They had never made any promise to be there for each other at all.

But when Odd calls and sounds _that_ spooked about something, Ulrich contemplates his next move, sighs, and throws some shoes on in a daze. He goes off into the forest, not quite sure why Odd is there in the first place. He finds the Hermitage and walks to where Odd said he'd be.

He smells something funny, but not even the light of the full moon is enough to show him the source. He walks a bit further, and is just about to turn around (it must have been Odd's idea of a joke. He'd get back to their room and find the door unable to open or dog hair all over his bed) when he hears a groan.

He jogs over to examine it, and finds Odd. Odd looks worse than he sounded. And that's saying something. Ulrich pulls out the flashlight he doesn't like using (nearly out of batteries, given to him by his first girlfriend. Strictly emergency use only) and sees that Odd's pupils are almost nonexistent even though it's night, he's pale, and he's sweating. But also shivering.

Odd mumbles something about wolves and bites, and Ulrich thinks he's hallucinating. But Odd can't walk on his own so Ulrich throws the other boy's arm across his shoulder and his own arm under Odd's armpit and they begin the trek to Kadic. He never gets the chance to ask why Odd was outside anyway because the second Odd collapses on his bed, he's asleep.

They didn't make any promises.

Some would say that they didn't need to.


	65. Cup

#65 Cup

* * *

Ulrich cupped Yumi's face in his warm hands, but instead of blushing she stared right through him.

"Come on, Yumi," he whispered. "Wake up."

Her head swung from side to side as he gently began to shake her. She didn't move to keep his hand, even as he pulled it away from her face. And when he came back, his hands tightly together, he opened her mouth and poured water in. And besides swallowing, she still didn't respond.

Overhead, the lights flickered and went out.

Yumi didn't notice.

But when she woke up, it was as dark as it had been with her eyes closed, and even in his sleep, Ulrich was holding her tightly.

She sighed and closed her eyes again. When she woke up, one way or another, there would be light.


	66. Mania

#66 Mania  
A/N: A little bit of a Halloween bit for you all. I'm sure you'll see a few more. And a bit of a crazy pairing to boot. Enjoy!

* * *

Herve could see dead people.

Telling the difference between the living and the departed, now that was a bit more tricky. At an early age, he learned that having no friends was better than having friends who didn't exist. (_Or_, his mind would say, _having a flurry of nurses in some asylum_).

But he spent his evenings in the company of kings and warriors, merchants and traders, thieves and murderers.

And then he met _her._

As he was lying down a warm autumn day, watching the clouds and occasional ghost flit by, she came up to him. She appeared over him, blocking out the form of a little boy tossing a ball to an invisible opponent (he never said he could see _every_ ghost).

She asked if he was alright.

He asked if she was dead.

She shrugged and somehow they ended up getting coffee together. Herve swore he saw one of the cafés former employees wink at him, but when he gave a casual wave, she asked who he was waving to. He made up some excuse that she didn't believe, and as they got together more and more often, he found himself making more and more excuses. Until she stopped caring about a casual dart of the eye or barest hint of a smile.

Luckily for him, Samantha Knight never let a bit of crazy get in the way of any of her relationships.


	67. Director

Eeeeeeek! OVer 200 reviews! Squeal! Thanks so much guys! My goal is to have four reviewers for chapter from here on out, but you guys made my day! This is a continuation of chapter 63 (Tune).

#67 Director

* * *

"Aaaaaaaaand Cut! That's the wrap, check the tape!"

Odd smiled triumphantly as Nicolas and Herve busied themselves with the camera and Jean- Baptiste felt to the ground in exhaustion (Odd could understand that; they had spent the last twelve hours filming with six five minute breaks and two half hour rests).

Romain was, unsurprisingly, standing next to Jean- Baptiste, even though Odd could have sworn he said he was out of town.

Herve gave him the thumbs-up and Odd walked over to the two- make that three. Sissi had shown up, eagerly watching her two 'friends' make sure that no technical errors had come to Odd's newest masterpiece.

She smiled gently at him, shifting in her long dress to let him into the group.

"Now we just have to finish editing, and we're good to go," Nicolas said excitedly. Surprisingly enough, he had a real knack for the skill and a finesse that you would be hard-pressed to find anywhere else.

And thus, the filming for the very music video of _Schaefer_'s first track was complete!

As the four new friends walked away, they didn't notice the camera turn on to watch their final moments.

And somewhere in a sea of ones and zeros, Franz Hopper smiled.


	68. Dawn

# 68 Dawn

A/N: This is really made for the people I talked to on tumblr last night. Everyone of them. You know who you are! You guys made me feel like a princess and I love you all!

This is kind of a sequel to 64: Resolve and two as of yet unposted drabbles in Centum. Eventually it will all add up to be a real multi-chap.

* * *

They had fallen asleep in Ulrich's room and been asleep for hours when the door creaked open and Odd staggered in. Yumi's eyes were the first to slowly open and she leaped up and grabbed him right as he began to fall.

His clothes were tattered and his breaths were coming out in harsh gasps. Sweat trickled down in face and his hair was matted down. She pretended not to notice the corner of red by his mouth or the way his fists were clenched. He murmured something that she couldn't quite understand, but she rubbed his arm- which was just as covered with scratch marks as the rest of his body- and said soothing words and mumbled nonsense to him.

'_It's morning. You're okay now.'_

He seemed to relax and dizzily tried to pull away from her grip, expecting her to let him go. _As if._

Instead she helped half-carry him to his bed and pushed him into it. She was surprised his low groan didn't wake the others up, but it had been a long night for them all. Nothing short of the apocalypse would have waken them all up and even that would hardly grab their attention.

If they saw Odd though, that would get their attention. They had priorities, after all.

He was asleep before his head hit the pillow and she gently covered him and ruffled his hair before sitting by his feet and leaning against the wall. She absentmindedly rubbed them as his quiet breaths became replaced by nearly deafeningly (healthy) snores.

The beginnings of daylight streaked across the room and she knew that they (XANA attacks, curses, storms, and all) would be alright.


	69. Method

#69 Method

A/N: reviews make lovely Christmas presents. And feel free to check out (and/or) review my other fics! Seriously, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays everyone!

* * *

It was meant to be a guy's night out. Just the four of them.

That was, as it turned out, before Odd and Ulrich thought that jumping off the roof onto piles of snow was a good idea.

(And it had been, in theory, until they misjudged the distance between the snow pile and the new statue Delmas had just had commissioned for the Kadic grounds.)

Which is why Jeremie was sitting alone at the theater. With William. (While seemingly oxymoronic, it wasn't. He and William had never connected before William had gotten possessed and gone through a major outfit change).

The movie was crude, immature, and plotless. One that would have Odd snickering from the first minute and Ulrich would relent and join in a little while later. Jeremie had thought it would have been right up William's alley.

It wasn't though. William's hands never stopped clenching the seat and his eyes never left the screen. Jeremie himself had zoned out and his mind was filled with codes and numbers and possibilities.

On the way home, William talked. It didn't make any sense. He rambled about ways that he'd gotten girls (and gotten kicked out school), places he's been, and friends that he'd had. He talked about train schedules and buddies he knew in the area. And Jeremie, for the life of him, couldn't find the _one common denominator _that made it fit together.

By the time they get back to Kadic, William is talking about third chances. Jeremie wishes him a merry Christmas (break begins the next day) and they go to their separate dorms.

It's only when he's laying asleep at night that his mind clears enough for Jeremie to think about it.

A movie about a guy where everything went wrong. A film where he runs away to start it all over. A plot where everything works out okay.

And a friend who just wants all of the above to be reality.


	70. External

#70 External

* * *

When Ulrich and Yumi burst into the room, shouting and in perfect fighting position, Jeremie spit out his coffee all over Aelita. When Odd ran in a few seconds later, with two skinned knees and a red face, Jeremie realized he shouldn't have because he would probably need all the coffee he could get.

He'd like to say that he was surprised, but really, it was getting to be a bad habit. One day, they would all leave Kadic and the new friends of their choosing may not be as nonchalant about their door-breaking habits as Jeremie and Aelita were.

"You said something about a Terminator," Yumi gasped. "Is it XANA?"

Jeremie took a long sip of his coffee. "No. No it's not. There's something wrong with my computer, I'm fixing it."

"Oh," Odd said. "Our bad. Sorry. You lovebirds get back to fixing your moniker or whatever." With that, he walked out, Yumi and Ulrich trailing slowly behind.

Jeremie let out a relieved sigh, running his hands through his hair. Aelita sat beside him, grabbed a hand, and rubbed circular motions. "At least they didn't hurt the door this time; I don't think Jim would be as forgiving the fourth time."

Jeremie gave a weak laugh. "You're right, it's not like they did any permanent damage."

Aelita cringed just as, down the hall, a resounding crash echoed.

They had saved the world from XANA. Countless times. But with XANA gone, who would save the world from those three.


	71. Looking

#71 Looking  
_A/N: crossover, intentionally vague. Explanation next chapter. Cheers!_

* * *

"Hey, You!" Sissi screeched across the abandoned courtyard. "Are you looking for something?"

The old man had been casually scanning the students as he leisurely walked across campus. He stopped in his tracks and stared at her. At his gaze, she fell silent, her mouth still slightly opened. He was sneering and his eyes were a bright blue. His wrinkled face broke into a grin and his eyes crinkled

Later, Sissi would swear that they were gold when they opened again. Jeremie swore to her it was just the sunlight.

But no matter the color of his eyes, a gust of wind blew through the campus and Sissi shielded her eyes from the leaves that suddenly filled the air. When she was able to open them again, the old man was gone.

Those blue eyes had looked familiar. Even the gold didn't seem out of place. And the next day, a new student transferred to Kadic. Black hair, blue shirt, and red jacket. His name was Marius, but that didn't seem to fit him.

And there was something about him, but she just couldn't quite put her finger on it.


	72. Dress

_A/N: First the explanation for the last chapter. It was a crossover with 'Merlin.' Be aware for potential spoilers in the next few sentences. The old man you see is Merlin in our time. He's looking for Arthur and, as luck would have it, Sissi is actually the reincarnation of Arthur. I know, kind of trippy. If you want a more in-depth explanation, shoot me a review or a PM and I'll actually explain everything._

_This is a longer drabble (but still under 500 words so we're still good). I really like this one though because I use to versions of the prompt word to show what I believe could be two versions of Sissi (one canon and one Garage Kids- AU). Happy reading!_

**#72 Dress**

* * *

The dress is a bright red that slowly turns deeper and darker until at the bottom it looks almost like half-dried blood.

Sissi doesn't think of that analogy though. She thinks of the perfect way it fits her body and flows out from beneath her. She thinks of the way her makeup illuminates her eyes and show off her cheekbones. She thinks of the way her hairstyle gently frames her face.

She's the prettiest girl in the school and tonight she shows it.

One day she's going to be an actress or a model or even a trophy-wife, so she let's herself get used to the attention.

oOoOoOo

In another life, if things had gone a bit differently (if she had sucked up her fears and pettiness and entered the scanner), she is still wearing blood red. It is darker in some areas and lighter in others and, despite all odds, certain patches of her shirt are still the pure white they had been when she put it on that morning.

(Looking back, it felt like a lifetime ago.)

Her throat is sore from screaming and she's dragging Ulrich's limp form behind her. She can feel his pulse from the way his wrist is gripped in her hand and it's perhaps the only thing keeping her from going insane.

She pulls him into her room (where they have something of an emergency medical station set up). She applies bandages and dresses the wound as best she can. She learned by scouring pages upon pages on the internet and seeing things she would never be able to unsee in the process.

His wound is not bad enough to need the hospital, but even if it had been, she had a notebook filled from cover to cover- each page with excuses for different injuries.

After, Ulrich looks more like a mummy than a person, she begins working on herself. Her hair is already tied back in a messy ponytail so it doesn't get in her eyes and she hisses in pain when she has to squeeze herself out of her shirt without irritating any of her cuts and bruises.

A hand catches hers. Ulrich. She didn't realize he would wake up so quickly, but even now with his eyes open and his hand gripping hers, 'woken up' isn't the way she would describe him. Not with glazed eyes an arm that won't leave his left leg, and a head that can't raise more than two inches.

"I'll…do it," he gasps out.

Sissi shakes her head while she firmly wraps her ankle and gently pushes him down. "Ulrich, dear," she says with a smirk. "Who exactly is the future doctor here?"

And it's not him, that's for certain.


	73. Annoyance

#73 Annoyance

* * *

William drummed his fingers against the top of the desk. While the other students (and even Mrs. Hertz herself) had seemed to tune out the soft patters and taps, Ulrich found that he simply could not.

Slowly, he turned around to glare at William. "Can you cut that out?"

William smiled. "Sure thing, Ulrich," he said as his fingers came to a halt. Ulrich sighed in content and turned around to face the front. Only to find an irate hertz staring icily in front of him and William thwacking his pencil against the side of the desk behind him.

Ulrich huffed and pretended to work, listening to the sound of the pencil growing louder and louder and louder…and in some sort of pattern? Rhythmic, steady, captivating… hypnotizing.

Ulrich's eyes, which had been growing heavy, shot open and he quickly turned around. "You're not in this class!"

William's twisted smirk was not his own and XANA's symbol flashed in his eyes. He reached forward towards Ulrich, slowly, deliberately…

…and then Ulrich woke up. Odd was across the room, snoring loudly. Not that it bothered him anymore.

And William was in the supercomputer, doing…whatever he did when he wasn't trying to ruin _everything_. William was in the super computer. Alone. At the mercy of a program.

Not that it bothered him anymore.

(Or at least it didn't when it wasn't just him, his thoughts, and the bright moon).


End file.
